312. This verse contains a complete description of the state of these people who came before the Flood.

(1) 'They were expelled', that is, separated from celestial good.

(2) 'Cherubim were made to dwell away from the east towards the garden of Eden. ' Those people being what they were, the wording is 'away from the east towards the garden', words that are applicable solely to them, and not to the people who lived at a later time. The wording as it stands in this verse cannot be used of the latter, but the reverse can, 'away from the garden of Eden towards the east'.

(3) This verse also speaks of 'the flame of a sword turning itself this way and that'. Had the reference been to modern man the phrase would have been 'the sword of a flame', and 'the tree of life 'would have been used instead of 'the tree of lives'. And there are further features to the train of thought here which cannot possibly be explained. They are understood solely by angels to whom the Lord reveals them. Each of these states involves countless arcana, not a single one of which is known to the human race.